Categories: Travel

Earlier this week, I took my last fight of 2014 (Thank goodness it is for fun and not work!). As that trip comes closer, a few thoughts come to mind:

I travel a lot; Maybe not as much as everyone, but if I were to guess, more than 97% of the rest of America. Delta tells me that I have done about 100,000 in this year alone. As you read that last sentence, you will most likely fall into one of two groups: “Wow, look at all of the free trips you can take” or “Bummer, you missed Diamond”. For me, it just means I get to board first, sit closer to the front and will have overhead space for my carry ons.

In reality, there really are only two groups that are happy with that number above: Delta Airlines and Hilton Hotels (my family is not even close to being in the top 10 of “happy groups”). When I travel, I am as loyal as I can be. I certainly won’t do it to my detriment or if the price is way out of whack. But, like most people, I want to get points, earn status and have the opportunity to enjoy life (with my “upgrades”) and of course, with my family. Since the first frequent flyer program was put into place in 1972, it has been a huge success to not only the travel industry, but also to the traveler. Of course, Delta and Hilton want me to use their services 100% of the time, and by offering these inceptives it sure doesn’t hurt. So I will take what I can get when I travel.

But truth be told, for me after all of these years of traveling, I just want to get home. Yes, I like the perks, I love the upgrades, but I like sleeping in my own bed next to my wife and kissing my children goodnight more.

For a number of years, I used to fly into the Rochester NY airport fairly frequently. I always caught the last flight of the day out of Atlanta so I could start my day bright and early and try to get as much in as I could. …

A friend recently made a comment that I never seem to grow up. I am not sure if that was a compliment, criticism, or maybe some jealousy. Though, he may have a valid point. Afterwards, I thought about his comment, and I guess I do seem to live a life on the edge or at least do things that most people never would even think about doing.

This year was no exception.

20 years ago, I had returned to the US after walking off of Kilimanjaro. My first stop was at the apartment of my future wife. I am sure I looked like hell, I had not shaved or cut my hair in forever (yes I did bath). I don’t know if she knew it then, but she knows now: I like to do things off the beaten trail. The same friend who told me I don’t grow up (this same friend is who introduced me to my wife), asked why I do these things. I put my head down, thought about it, and looked at him and said, “I want to do things people only dream of and don’t actually do“. He said he appreciated my candor; I laughed.

I love climbing, I love going high on a mountain. But with kids and that silly thing called a job, I had stopped climbing. I knew I was getting restless, so after a long period, I decided I need to determine if I still “had it”. I wanted to try some glacier climbing on Mount Rainer as a prep to see if I could do Mount Denali. I looked at the best groups to help me reach my goal and chose RMI Guides.

Unfortunately, the trip did not exactly go accordingly to plan. Two months before I was to leave, I was told that I had two hernias and needed to have surgery. However silly it sounds, that did not deter me. My surgeon convinced me that I could still climb and wait until after I got off the mountain to have the surgery. And that become the plan.

The idea come up two years ago; the planning started last year. And it all came together this June.

I always told my boys growing up that they could play any sport they wanted, as long as it was soccer. Now, I am sure you think I am joking. And maybe I am a little, but truth be told, that is the sport that I had always loved wanted them to pursue. Soccer to me is A Beautiful Game: It is a game that is filled with camaraderie, fitness, personal growth and maturity. It makes you think, it makes you stronger, it makes you a better person.

Both of my boys have played the game since they were four. There is an argument that today they know more about the game and love it more than I do; And that brings a smile to my face.

As the boys where getting older, they wanted to see a World Cup game in person. Now for those of you that are unfamiliar with the World Cup, it is a 30 day event that is held every four years between countries. For a country to qualify, it they must go through a series of matches against other countries over the period of two years. At the end of that period, 32 countries qualify to play. In other words, those countries that play in the World Cup are the best of the best. And that is what my boys wanted to see.

To make this happen, we needed to plan; we needed to save money (it was going to be expensive), figure out what cities to see, how to find a place to stay and more than anything: we needed to hope that we could get tickets. Tickets this year were distributed by FIFA (The governing body for soccer) by a lottery. You put your name in a hat and hoped it got pulled. We had a lot of hope, but we also needed luck.

So rather then put the cart before the horse and arrange for plane tickets and a place to stay, we put our names in for the lottery and waited.

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